So Newark's about to get $100 mil. from the CEO of Facebook. That's great. Really. I hope it helps more kids learn to read, to do math, and to stay away from the streets.But I'm pretty sure he could give any failing school system a BILLION dollars and it would still do no good at all if those kids don't have stable homes and neighborhoods to return to after school. No amount of money will help if the kids don't have a parent or grandparent at home to take care of them and to make sure they stay on top of them.
Extending school hours is NOT the answer. Kids don't need to be brought up by the state. Kids need to be at home with mom or dad. Kids need to get outside and play and run around. Kids need to use their imaginations; to play ball in the street with their friends till the street lights come on. Kids need their dads not to be in prison. Kids need their moms not to have to work 3 jobs to keep food on the table.
Kids need the state to give their moms and dads their money back. That way, maybe mom or dad can stay home with them so they stay out of trouble. Kids need strong families so they don't feel like they have to turn to a gang to get the love and acceptance and discipline they crave.
Kids from stable homes do better in school. Throwing a billion dollars ($900 mil from NJ + Zuckerberg's $100 mil) into Newark's crappy schools won't fix this. Kids' families need fixing.
5 comments:
Amen! My sister calls it "selling the schools" and I agree with that. But I want to know what this mayor thinks he can do to fix the problems in the schools.
I just finished reading "Home-Alone America" by Mary Eberstadt. It was scary, because it's true.
I like Cory Booker. I think he's really got his heart in the right place and that he really wants to help the city and make it the great city it used to be. I'm not sure he even knows what he's going to do about the schools.
It just seems that the elephant in the room in education discussions is the breakdown of the American family. Why does no one with power want to discuss these things? !
The state took over those schools in the 90s. Has anything improved since? You're right--money isn't going to be the thing that fixes this problem.
Gotta wonder, though, what is the answer? What will make these kids successful? What can be done to successfully turn the trend of poor parenting and poor family structures? I agree that we can't turn to the schools to be the parents for these kids, but what can be done?
Hi Wayne, thanks for the comment.
I think yours is an excellent question, but my ideas take up too much space to go into it as a comment here. Since you deserve an answer, I'm going to follow up with another post. Look for it within a week (I'm a mom with a part-time job and a full-time commitment in my kids' school and activities, so it will take that long for a well-reasoned follow-up to appear.
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